Redskins Hire Joe Mendes As VP

The Washington Redskins, having given up trying to find a general manager, officially split the job in two Wednesday with the hiring of Joe Mendes as vice president of football operations.

The Redskins will now hire a director of player personnel, with Vinny Cerrato the favorite to return in that role.

The Redskins discussed the general manager's job with former GM Bobby Beathard, Oakland front office assistant Bruce Allen and Tampa Bay's Rich McKay. Talks fell through for various reasons, leading to the decision to hire two people with lesser responsibilities.

The Redskins made Mendes the NFL's first salary cap specialist in 1993. He was also the team's chief contract negotiator until he resigned, citing burnout, just before the start of the 2000 season. He has spent the last two years working with player agents.

Cerrato was hired in 1999 as Snyder's hand-picked director of player personnel, but he had mixed results over two seasons with coach Norv Turner and was fired by new coach Marty Schottenheimer a year ago. Cerrato spent last season working as a television studio analyst.

Splitting the GM's job further dilutes the Redskins' decision-making power as Snyder becomes more involved with the operation of the team. The authority held almost exclusively last season by Schottenheimer will now be shared among Snyder, Mendes, the director of player personnel and new coach Steve Spurrier.

Buttone and Mercer were in training camp with the Redskins last year. Jackson was with Seattle until the third week of the regular season. Harper was in training camp with Baltimore, and Smith spent camp with Jacksonville.